Thursday, March 13, 2014

Reubin Askew passes … A great Florida governor … by gimleteye

Reubin Askew - Governor 1971 to 1979

These days it is easy to lose the thread of what Florida had been, before the state was overrun by special interests deploying armies of lobbyists in Tallahassee and spreading the toxics of unlimited campaign contributions through the political landscape.

In the 1970s Florida was not a kind or gentle place. The state still bore the stigma and shame of the segregationist South, and there were plenty of legislators in Tallahassee who would have pulled the thread of what Florida had been and gone away perfectly happy with restoration of the Confederacy.

Reubin Askew was decidedly not from that tradition. He was, however, from a generation of Florida leaders who looked to a future where the sprawl industries we lament on this blog would take over and wreck the state unless checked by careful regulation.

In the 1970s it was easier to have a glimpse back to a time when Florida was a better state for being more connected to its traditions of hunting, fishing, pristine springs, waters and bays. And Everglades.

Reubin Askew believed when you pulled that thread, it took you back to values that mattered; values sadly buried in the muck of Florida's zero lot line culture.

"While the Legislature resisted his ideas for education reforms and for a consumer advocate, the governor protected environmentally fragile lands, restricted coastal construction and blocked oceanfront casinos." (New York Times obit, reprinted below)

Governor Askew's death begs those of us who remain; know your state's history and pass it along.

Reubin Askew, a progressive “New South” Democrat who promoted racial equality and ethics reforms as a two-term governor of Florida in the 1970s and campaigned briefly for the presidency in 1984 and for the Senate in 1988, died early on Thursday in Tallahassee. He was 85.

Ron Sachs, a spokesman for Mr. Askew, said that he had been hospitalized on Saturday with pneumonia and that his condition had worsened after suffering a stroke.

Along with former Presidents Jimmy Carter of Georgia and Bill Clinton of Arkansas, Mr. Askew was part of a new wave of moderate southern governors in the 1970s and ‘80s who embraced progressive ideas on racial issues, the environment, education, crime, taxation and economic growth.

He was all but unknown outside his conservative panhandle constituency when he ran for governor in 1970, although he had served 12 years in the State Legislature. But he was tall, lean and telegenic — and he promised to tax corporate profits. He caught fire with voters who saw him as a populist tilting against big business, and he handily defeated the incumbent Republican, Gov. Claude R. Kirk Jr.

It was apparent from the start that this governor would be different. He did not drink, smoke or swear, was a Presbyterian elder and projected a strong sense of morality. “We served no alcohol for eight years in the Governor’s Mansion,” he recalled in a 2006 interview with FloridaTrend.com. “I always laughed and said you’d be surprised how early people go home when you don’t give them any alcohol.”

In his first term, Mr. Askew pushed through a 5 percent corporate income tax, and eased consumer, property and school taxes: minor miracles in a revenue-starved, anti-tax state. He also reformed penal statutes, streamlined the judiciary, achieved no-fault divorce and auto insurance laws, raised welfare benefits and extended workers’ compensation to migrant laborers.

While the Legislature resisted his ideas for education reforms and for a consumer advocate, the governor protected environmentally fragile lands, restricted coastal construction and blocked oceanfront casinos. He also began to integrate state government, starting with the Highway Patrol. He named blacks to state commissions and boards, and supported proposals to bus children to desegregate public schools.

Re-elected in a 1974 landslide, he appointed the first black justice of the Florida Supreme Court and the first black since Reconstruction to head a state agency. He pushed for ethics-in-government laws. When legislators balked, he took the issue to the voters, who overwhelmingly backed financial disclosures by public officials and barred former officials from lobbying their agencies for two years.

In his final years in office — he was limited by law to two four-year terms — the governor, reacting to critics who called him antibusiness, supported corporate tax breaks and foreign investment in the state.

His national stature grew throughout his governorship. In 1972, he delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach. The nominee, Senator George S. McGovern, discussed the vice presidency with him, but he was reticent. He was elected chairman of the Southern Governors’ Conference in 1974 and of the Democratic Governors’ Conference in 1976. In 1979, President Carter named him the United States Trade Representative, with cabinet and ambassador’s rank, a post he held for two years.

In 1981, he began exploring a run for the Democratic presidential nomination. He visited all 50 states and announced his candidacy in 1983, billing himself as “a different Democrat.” A Harvard study called him one of the century’s 10 best state leaders, along with Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.

But his campaign never gained traction. While progressive on civil rights, he was more conservative in some ways than his rivals, favoring the death penalty and generally opposing abortion and civil rights for gays. In March 1984, he dropped out after finishing last in the New Hampshire primary.

In 1988, lacking funds, he halted a brief run for the United States Senate, ending his political career. He later taught government and politics at Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, the University of Florida and Florida State University, which named its school of public administration and policy after him.

Reubin O’Donovan Askew was born on Sept. 11, 1928, in Muskogee, Okla., the youngest of six children of Leon and Alberta Askew. His father, a carpenter, was an alcoholic, and his mother divorced him and moved the brood to her hometown, Pensacola, Fla., in 1937. She was a waitress, seamstress and hotel maid, and Reubin shined shoes, bagged groceries and delivered newspapers to help support the family. He attended Christian Science services with his mother, but later became a Presbyterian.

He graduated from Pensacola High School in 1946, served two years in the Army and attended Florida State on the G.I. Bill of Rights, becoming student body president. He joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, and after taking a degree in public administration in 1951, became an Air Force officer during the Korean War. He graduated from law school at the University of Florida in 1956 and joined a Pensacola law firm.

He married the former Donna Lou Harper in 1956 and they had two children, Kevin and Angela. His wife and children survive him.

After two years as the assistant solicitor for Escambia County, he won a seat in Florida’s House of Representatives in 1958. He served four years in the house, and eight more as a State Senator, then launched his campaign for governor.

“Running for office was something I knew I had to do,” he said. “I feel God has plans for the world and men. If I had any talent, I had to use it for public service.”

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Quotes hall of fame - worth another look:

Jonathon Dunlop of Australia about the Miami Airport:"This is the most disorganized shambles of an airport that exists on this earth.''April 01, 2007 Eye on Miami Comment on Post__________________________________On "Colony Collapse Disorder":Anonymous said...I say lets wait till the last tree is going to be cut down, the last bit of oil used, the last lowland coastal areas flooded before we make any rash decisions that might effect the economy.April 21, 2007 Eye on Miami Comment_________________________________On Bee “Colony Collapse Disorder” being blamed on cell phones:Anonymous said...Hmmm. What are bees doing with cell phones, anyhow?April 20, 2007 Eye on Miami Comment_________________________________On South Florida Water Supply:Ron Littlepage said...Unfortunately, we know who would win when it comes to allowing development to run amok and it's not the wildlife.April 20, 2007 Eye on Miami Comment Post_________________________________Lesley Blackner said:In Florida, the sad reality is that government exists to serve the development machine, not the citizenry. That's why it's proper to say that in Florida we have government of the developer, by the developer and for the developer.April 22, 2007 Eye on Miami Post_________________________________On City of Miami and Miami Dade County giving $1,000,000 each to Jorge Perez’s Related Group (The Group's 2005 revenues were $3.25 billion.):"It makes as much sense as me donating half my paycheck to Warren Buffett.”May 6, 2007 Miami Herald Columnist Ana Menendez_________________________________On the FCAT Test:"'Florida is a serial mis-user of test scores.''Bob Schaeffer, director for Massachusetts-based FairTest.May 25, 2007 Miami Herald_________________________________Clifford Schulman (Greenberg Traurig Lobbyist):"This is the first time in 33 years that any one has accused me of fraud." June 28, 2007 Miami HeraldI say: hmm.__________________________________Max Rameau, Homeless Activist:"I respect Ron Book for his work with the Homeless Trust, but the Liberty City community and others have given broad support to this idea. I don't know that a big-time millionaire lobbyist can tell us what is best for Liberty City and the black community.'' July 28, 2007 Miami Herald__________________________________"After years of mismanagement under a board of political appointees and neighborhood activists, Miami-Dade County administrators have proposed a new way to run the troubled empowerment zone program. The plan: Bring in new political appointees and neighborhood activists."November 6, 2007 Miami Herald: Reporter Scott Hiaasen______________________________________"Saying "Greater Everglades" and "Northern Everglades" is not saying Everglades -- other places are deserving of being protected too, but there is only one Everglades. The main thing is to keep the 'Main Thing' the main thing -- which, lately, has not been the main thing." Bob Mooney - on Listserve "Everglades Commons"________________________________________"Does anyone in their right mind believe that Florida could conduct postal balloting without a major screw-up or scandal? Heavens, no! The whole country is keenly aware that our state is a sump hole of incompetence and corruption."Carl Hiaasen - March 16, 2008 Miami Herald_______________________________________On the Charter Review: "Commissioners want us to vote on their own pet changes, ideas the review team explicitly rejected. And, they're throwing their blatantly self-serving ballot questions at us at the same time. What a slap in the face to the charter review team — and to all of us!" Michael Lewis of Miami Today - April 10, 2008______________________________________On the Miami Dade County Commission:''Unfortunately, this is a commission that would build a cyanide factory next to a playground if you hired the right 12 lobbyists,'' Miami Lakes Councilman Michael Pizzi - May 14, 2008______________________________________"The days where we’re just building sprawl forever, those days are over. I think that Republicans, Democrats, everybody recognizes that that’s not a smart way to build communities." President Barack Obama in Fort Meyers - February 10, 2009______________________________________"So."Dick Cheney's response when told that two thirds of Americans did not support the war in Iraq. - Time Magazine 2008______________________________________"It seems like a bad idea can always find a home in the Florida Legislature." - Howard Simon - Executive Director of Florida ACLU - March 24, 2010

______________________________________Complete this sentence: South Florida really needs a..."Regional plan for controlled growth (before it becomes a concrete jungle similar to Houston), and a completely new set of elected officials that make decisions based on what's good for the future of South Florida instead of what's good for their wallets. - Jack McCabe, Real Estate expert who predicted the housing boom's end. - August 29, 2011 Miami Herald